Rex, Cody, and The Enterprise
by ArdiMaster
Summary: Rex and Cody's shuttle is engaged by a Separatist fleet. During an attempt to escape, their shuttle's damaged hyperspace drives opens a wormhole, sending them all the way into the territory of the United Federation of Planets.
1. Stranded in Space

Copyright Notice: _Star Wars: The Clone Wars_ and all its characters belong to LucasArts/Disney; _Star Trek: The Next Generation_ and all its characters belong to Paramount.  
This story is (c) 2015-2016 by ArdiMaster; available under the terms and conditions of the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 International license.

 **Rex, Cody, and The _Enterprise_**

 **Chapter 1: Stranded in Space  
**

 **Revision 2016-02-22**

Captain Rex and Commander Cody were aboard a shuttle, returning to the _Resolute_ when they were engaged by a Separatist fleet.

"We have to get out of here! We don't have the weaponry to shoot our way through!" Cody shouted.

"Agreed," Rex said, "I'm plotting a course… Engaging hyperspace drive… now!"

Just a split-second before he pressed the button, a laser bullet came towards the ship, critically hitting the drive. Before they knew what was going on, the faulty hyperspace drive engaged, opening a wormhole right in front of them. The shuttle got sucked in.

# # #

 _Meanwhile aboard the USS Enterprise…_

Captain Jean-Luc Picard sat in his chair on the bridge of the Enterprise. Everything seemed to be quite normal.

"Captain, I am detecting an anomaly forming about ten kilometers off the starboard bow," Data said.

"What kind of anomaly, Mr. Data?" Picard inquired.

"Scanning… It appears to be a wormhole, highly unstable… Captain, there seems to be a ship emerging from it," he answered.

"Mr. Worf, shields up, just as a precaution," Picard instructed the Klingon at the tactical station behind him. "What kind of ship is it, Mr. Data?"

The response came a few seconds later: "There are no matches or even similarities to any ship type in the database, sir."

"Mr. Worf, tactical analysis," Picard requested.

"They are armed only with laser cannons. Their defensive systems consist of deflector shields, primitive by our standards, but their propulsion system is unlike anything we have ever encountered before."

"Is there any obvious threat to the Enterprise?" Picard asked.

"No, sir. Their weapons are no match for us, and the wormhole from which they emerged has already collapsed," Data responded.

"Hail them," Picard ordered, "I want to know who they are and what they want from us."

"Channel open."

"This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the federation starship _Enterprise_. Please identify yourself."

# # #

 _Aboard the republic shuttle…_

"This is not good," Cody said, looking at the displays in front of him. "I have no idea where we are, how we got here, or what that ship over there is. Plus, the hyperspace drive is completely screwed, and we sure don't have the means to repair it."

"Commander," Rex said from the pilot's chair, "I'm receiving a transmission, not holographic. I think we are being hailed by that ship."

"Maybe we can get some answers," Cody replied. "Put it on screen."

The transmission showed what they expected to be the other ship's bridge. One man stepped forward. "This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the federation starship _Enterprise_. Please identify yourself."

Cody gave Rex a meaningful look, then replied: "This is Commander Cody of the Grand Army of the Galactic Republic. I have to apologize for our sudden appearance, but we are experiencing issues with our main drive, we have no idea how we got here… Wherever _here_ is."

The man from the _Enterprise_ , who had identified himself as Captain Picard, motioned to the man at the back of the bridge, who tapped a few buttons on his control panel, apparently muting the audio transmission. After conferring with his fellow officers, he ordered the audio transmission to be turned back on. "Although I somewhat doubt your story, we can offer you to land your ship in our shuttle bay, and be our guests while our chief engineer takes a look at that man drive of yours."

Rex gave Cody an uneasy look. "Thank you for your generous offer, Captain Picard. Please understand we need a moment to consider it," Cody answered him.

"No problem. Take your time, Commander." Cody gestured for Rex to mute the audio on their side.

"I don't know, Cody… Seppies might be setting us a trap," Rex said, concerned.

"Yes, possibly. But it would be very unlike them. Also, I have never heard of a Federation, nor have I ever seen a ship like that. Would be a pretty huge effort to build such a ship just to fool us, huh?" Cody said.

"Hm, yeah. Guess anything would be better than rotting here in space," Rex relented.

"My thoughts exactly. Reopen the audio channel, Rex," Cody said.

"Captain Picard, we are grateful that you offer your help. We are accepting your offer," he answered.

"Alright, we are preparing our main shuttle bay for your landing. You are currently off our starboard bow, please approach our ship from the back, you will find the shuttle bay open. Picard out." The transmission was terminated.

"Well, this is going to be interesting," Rex said, piloting the shuttle to the back of the Enterprise.

* * *

 _Author's notes: So, here is the first chapter! Your constructive criticism would be very much appreciated. I do also apologize for all those point of view jumps, I will try to decrease their count in the following chapters. Unfortunately, I can't promise exactly when I will post new chapters, depends on how much time school leaves me, and how long it takes for a chapter to feel "done"._

 _Update 2016-02-22: I will be making some revisions throughout the story during the following weeks. You will always find the date of the latest revision at the beginning of each chapter (no date means the chapter hasn't been revised since its publication)._


	2. Introductions

Disclaimer: Star Wars: The Clone Wars and all it's characters belong to LucasArts/Disney; Star Trek: The Next Generation and all it's characters belong to Paramount.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Introductions**

Rex landed the shuttle in the _Enterprise_ 's shuttle bay without difficulties. They weren't surprised to find that it was unlike any shuttle bay they had ever seen before – they had never seen a ship like that before either. As they disembarked their shuttle, Captain Picard and the other officers they had seen on the bridge were already awaiting them.

"Welcome aboard the _Enterprise_. I'm Captain Picard, my first officer Commander William Riker. Ship's counselor Deanna Troi, Chief Engineer Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge, and Lieutenant Commander Data. Our Chief of security, Lieutenant Worf, and Chief medical Officer Beverley Crusher," he introduced his officers.

Rex and Cody both removed their helmets, not noticing the way their almost identical faces startled the _Enterprise_ 's officers. "Thank you for your hospitality, Captain. We are grateful for your generous offer. I'm Commander Cody, this is my colleague, Captain Rex," Cody answered the introduction.

"Pleased to meet you, Commander. Captain," Picard said, nodding greetings to them, "how about I show you your quarters, and you will tell us some more of your … story later on?"

Cody looked at Rex, who nodded back at him, before replying: "That sounds very appealing. And, Captain Picard… We would prefer to be accommodated together, if that is possible."

A hint of a smile flashed across the Captain's face. "Understandable. That can be arranged. If you would follow me, please." After leaving the shuttle bay, taking a lift to go up a few decks, and walking through what appeared to be an endless labyrinth of corridors – not so much unlike a republic ship, actually. Just a bit more noble – they stopped in front of a door. He tapped a few keys on the keypad next to it, opening the door.

"Make yourself at home. The food replicator is over here, if you need anything, or want to know something, the computer uses voice activation, so just ask. You are free to use all of our recreational offers, the computer can give you directions. If you ever get lost, ask for directions to officer's quarters 06-1247. My bridge shift ends at 1800 hours, how about we meet in the conference lounge then?" Picard suggested.

"That sounds good," Cody agreed.

"Alright, then. We will meet in the conference lounge at 1800 hours, that's about five hours from now. One more thing, we don't usually carry weapons aboard the ship unless the situation calls for it, so if you would please leave them here, that would be very much appreciated."

"Of course."

"Good. I'll be on the bridge," Picard said, leaving.

* * *

"Wow. He seems to be quite honest with it," Rex admitted. "So, I guess we'll have to trust him for now, huh?"

"Yes. I definitely trust him enough to take a close look at that food replicator thing he mentioned, I'm starving," Cody replied. "You must be hungry too, Rex."

"Got me there. We need some food." No response. He made another attempt, slightly raising his voice: "Computer?"

This time, there was a series of beeps, which he assumed to be indicating that he was supposed to make his request now.

"We need something to eat."

"There are two million three hundred eighty-seven thousand nine hundred twenty-one matches for 'food'. Please specify."

"Um… How about steak? Two portions steak," he proposed.

The computer beeped again, and the recess in one of the walls came to life with a _hum_ and blue light. A few seconds later, it had fallen silent again, and there stood two plates with a steak each, complete with garnish and cutlery.

"Er… Alright, it's lunch time then, I suppose," Rex said, amazed. He put the plates on the table before sitting down himself.

They ate in silence, and they ate _fast_. They were both hungry, and this steak, whatever it was, artificially created by a computer or not, was way better than anything served in the mess on any of the Jedi cruisers, let alone ration bars. Cody wondered if he would ever be able to gulp those down again.

After having finished eating, they were facing a problem: "Computer, how do I get rid of used dishes?" Cody decided to inquire straight away. The answer was somewhat different from what he expected: "Please place used dishes back into the replicator where they will be dissolved." Somewhat startled, he did as prompted, and indeed, the plates dissolved back into the thin air they had come from.

"Wow, that's … very different. But," Rex said, letting out a huge yawn, "I think I'll catch a few hours of sleep."

"Yeah, me too," Cody instantly agreed. He looked around the room, and began undoing the straps that held his armor in place. "I highly doubt that keeping watch will be necessary. Computer, wake us up at 1730 hours."

"Alarm set for 5.30 p.m."

Rex began taking off his armor plates as well, and soon slid under the blanket. Cody was already laying in the other bed next to him. Moments later, they were both fast asleep.


	3. Explanations

Disclaimer: Star Wars: The Clone Wars and all its characters belong to LucasArts/Disney; Star Trek: The Next Generation and all its characters belong to Paramount.

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Explanations**

The alarm set off exactly at 1730 hours, waking Rex and Cody from their slumber. They got up, took a quick shower, and put their armor back on. They did remember what Captain Picard had said about carrying weapons around the ship, so they decided to leave their blasters hidden under the blankets. Rex had to admit to himself that he felt quite exposed without them. He would have to get used to it. At 1755 hours they requested directions to the conversation lounge from the computer, which resulted in a strip of yellow lights being lit up to indicate their route. Simple enough.

* * *

They entered the conversation lounge at 1800 hours to the point. Captain Picard was already waiting for them, sitting at the top end of a long table. "Welcome again. Please, have a seat." He gestured to the chairs next to him.

Rex and Cody sat down next to each other.

"So… I'm curious. Your sudden appearance did scare us a little," Picard began.

Rex responded, as he was the one piloting the shuttle when the 'incident' happened. "Well, we got engaged, and tried to escape, but our main drive was critically hit the moment I engaged it, and so it apparently opened a wormhole or something. We got sucked in, and ended up here… Wherever 'here' is."

"I see. That also fits our sensor readings. And, for your information, you ended up in the galaxy known to us as 'the Milky Way'," Picard answered the implied question. Rex and Cody looked at each other, slightly shaking their heads. "Never heard of it. Could you tell us about it?" Cody asked.

"As long as you answer my questions, I will answer yours. As long as it's not confidential information," Picard offered.

"Alright," Cody agreed.

"What did you do in your galaxy? Why did you get engaged in battle?" Picard asked.

"We were returning from a secret mission. There is a war going on between our Galactic Republic, and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. We ran into one of their patrols," Rex answered.

"So, are you soldiers?" Picard asked.

"One could say so," Cody replied.

"Please explain," Picard said, getting up. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Um, a glass of water, please," Rex said.

"For me too, please," Cody added.

Captain Picard brought them two glasses of water from the replicator, then ordered 'Tea, Earl Grey, Hot' for himself. Rex remembered Ahsoka once mentioning 'Tea', but had no idea how it smelled or tasted, or what 'Earl Grey' was. Probably a brand of 'Tea'.

"Basically, almost all members of the Grand Army of the Republic are clones, bred and trained for war pretty much from birth on," Rex began. "You surely noticed our faces looking quite identical."

"I did indeed notice. You didn't have a choice on whether you wanted to become soldiers or not, did you?" Picard asked.

Rex had had a feeling that he would at some point have to answer this somewhat uncomfortable question. "Well… No," he began, trying to find words that wouldn't sound as if he was about to desert.

Noticing how uncomfortable they were with that specific topic, Picard decided to drop it. "That's quite different from how we handle things, but just as well. I am in no position to judge that. Anyway, tell me about that war. Could there possibly be a threat posed to the _Enterprise_?" Rex silently thanked him for the switch of topics, relaxing the muscles he hadn't noticed he had tensed up.

Cody, who was doing the sensor scans in the shuttle, answered: "Difficult to say. We've never seen technology like yours before, we cannot assess it. Can't even tell whether the separatists are able to follow us here or not."

"The separatists? Is there a third party to this conflict?" Picard asked.

"No, sorry. That's just how the Confederacy of Independent Systems is called by, well, everybody, at least within the Republic."

"I see. That's all I need to know, for now. It's your turn to ask questions," Picard said.

* * *

Two hours later, Rex and Cody had found out all they had wanted to know: what the United Federation of Planets was, its major interest, which Picard had said was to "explore the galaxy, seek out new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no man has gone before", and, most important to them, that the Federation had absolutely no intention to join the war. They had even found a way to continue their daily training.

* * *

 _Author's note: This chapter really isn't that interesting, sorry for that. We are currently writing a whole lot of exams at school, so I do not have as much time for my writing as I'd like to have. The quality of this chapter sort of suffered from that, and with all the extra practicing, school is always on my mind even when I'm done for the day. Sorry again. However, I have a 'feeling' that the next chapter will be more interesting._


	4. Training

**Chapter 4: Training**

After they had finished their talk, they grabbed their weapons from their quarters and Captain Picard accompanied them to something called a "holodeck". He had told them it was capable of creating virtually anything, as long as they could describe it. That sounded like it was exactly what they needed. After all, they could _definitely_ describe battle droids.

The gate to the holodeck slid open and revealed a rather small room. The walls, floor and ceiling were black with a yellow grid pattern.

"Anything created in here obviously is only as big as the holodeck itself, but the computer will intelligently adjust the scenery as you move. Please don't ask me about the technical details, but trust me, it works," Picard explained.

Rex smiled. "Thank you again, Captain. Your help is very much appreciated."

Picard smiled back at them. "You're welcome. I'll leave you alone, then." Rex and Cody nodded, Picard left, the gate shutting behind him.

"Alright. Computer, create a battlefield simulation," Rex began setting up the holodeck.

"Please specify."

"Whatever… Create random landscape, moderate climate zone."

To their surprise, the room did indeed change, suddenly becoming a rater open field. A few trees and elevations offering a little cover, but nothing huge.

"Not bad. Next, make this the two of us against a bunch of battle droids," Rex continued.

"No database entries for 'battle droid' found."

"What a surprise. A battle droid is an artificial life form created for combat. The AI usually is rather dumb, and they are equipped with laser blaster rifles like the one Cody is holding," Rex described. The computer beeped multiple times before creating a bunch of gray humanoid robots holding blaster rifles.

"Program ready. AI skill level has been set to 1 and can be varied on a scale of 1 to 10. The program can be reset to this state at any time. Holographic characters and objects, including weapons, cannot inflict direct damage on non-holographic persons," the computer declared.

"Alright," Cody said, looking at Rex, who gave him a confirming nod. "Computer, run program."

Seconds later, the computer's 'droids' had engaged them with a full frontal attack, which the two clones quickly ended with a series of precise shots. As the last droid fell, there was a beep, and the program froze.

"That was way too easy. Computer, set AI skill level to 3 and rerun program," Cody ordered.

Seconds later, after the scenery had reset to its original state, and the two clones had found cover behind the trees, the droids began to split up, attacking them in three groups: one was attempting a direct frontal attack, one came from the left, and the third one from the right. This was not going to be as easy.

Cody expertly dodged a laser bolt coming from his right before firing at and destroying the droid the shot had come from. He glanced over at Rex, who was apparently having similar difficulties with the group coming from the left. The trees they had taken cover behind offered a decent level of protection from the shots coming from the frontal attack group, so they decided to take down the two groups attacking from the flanks first.

I turned out that these computer generated droids had a lot better aim than the ones they were used to fighting on the battlefield. Cody was just concentrating on aiming at one of them, when a shot came at him at an angle he had never expected it to be coming from. He tried to move out of the way, but it was so well aimed that he couldn't do so in time. He was already mentally preparing for the pain the hit would cause, when suddenly, the entire scenery froze. There was a beep. "You were hit. Program paused," the computer announced. When he took off his helmet, he could feel the heat the laser bullet still emitted, although a forcefield now prevented him from getting any closer. It looked strangely beautiful, frozen in mid-air like that.

He quickly abandoned that line of thought and put his helmet back on. War was _never_ "beautiful". Not even in this strange state.

He walked over to Rex, who was looking around the scene in similar astonishment. "Wanna try again?" Cody asked.

"Certainly. Now that we know more about them, let's make this a little more difficult, just for fun. Computer, reset program, make the terrain more uneven, set AI skill level to 4 and increase droid count by 20 percent," Rex ordered. The computer complied, randomly creating branches and small rocks on the ground, plus some additional trees.

"Run program." The scenery came to life once again, the droids spreading out, attacking them from a multitude of different angles. They positioned themselves back-to-back behind a tree, beginning to precisely shoot at and take down the droids. After having eliminated a whole lot of them, the two clones succeeded in bringing the remaining droids close together, so close that Rex managed to put an end to this battle with a single droid popper.

He had however not anticipated the effects the droid popper would have on the holodeck itself. Just after it had set off, the affected area partially disappeared. The computer made a series of weird noises and the entire scenery dissolved.

"Computer, what just happened?" Rex asked, a little afraid of having broken something.

"A strong electromagnetic pulse was detected and the program was terminated as a security measure. This holodeck retains full functionality."

"I see. Cody, shall we have some more _steak_? This was exhausting."

"Absolutely. Steak and a cool shower," Cody agreed, heading towards the gate. Rex followed close behind.


	5. Surprise

**Chapter 5: Surprise**

After they had returned from the holodeck and safely stowed away their blasters, Rex and Cody had a quick shower. They had just finished putting all their armor back into place and were about to turn towards the replicator when the entire ship suddenly shook. An alarm went off and a beep announced an intercom call.

"Cody and Rex to the bridge," was all Picard managed to say before the ship shook again, more intensely.

They wasted no time. "Acknowledged. On our way, sir," Cody replied, unsure whether the captain would hear him. They grabbed their helmets and sprinted off towards the turbolift.

Less than a minute later, they arrived on the bridge. "I believe we may have found more visitors from your galaxy," Picard said, looking towards the viewscreen. Rex and Cody did the same, and both went a little pale as they fully realized what they were seeing.

"Yes, you did. This is a separatist fleet," Rex replied. He looked at the ships more closely. "No. Please not."

"What is it, Rex?" Cody asked.

"I think this is the exact same fleet we tried to escape from earlier, sending us here. They must have noticed what was going on with our hyperspace drive, meaning..." He went even paler. "Meaning they are either really eager to catch us, or they are preparing an invasion on your federation."

"Whichever way, these ships do not pose a real threat to us. Their first shot caught us off-guard, inflicting minor damage to the outer hull before we were able to raise the shields, which they cannot penetrate," Picard said. "Hail them," he ordered, turning toward a man standing at a console behind him. "I need clarity about this."

The man at the console tapped a few buttons. "Channel open."

"This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the starship _Enterprise_ , representing the United Federation of Planets. You have entered our territory without permission. Identify yourself."

The immediate response was another volley of laser fire coming towards them. The ship shook only a little.

"No damage done. Shields still at one hundred percent," said the man at the console behind them, which appeared to be related to tactics.

"Very well, Mr. Worf," Picard replied, "prepare phasers. Aim at the vessel right in the middle, twenty-five percent power. If the scans show up any vital systems, please try to avoid them."

"Phasers ready."

"Fire!"

On screen, they saw an orange beam of light heading toward the indicated separatist vessel, ripping a considerable hole into its outer hull. Mere seconds later, the fleet began firing everything they had.

* * *

 _AN: Sorry for the long wait and the super-short chapter with cliffhanger ending. Although I have pretty exact ideas on how this matter will unfold, I can't finish it in the few days left before going on vacation for almost three weeks. As I don't know whether or not I can update the story from there, I figured that I might as well post what I have instead of risking to have you without any update for another three weeks. Hope you understand :)_

 _Also, due to aforementioned vacation, please don't expect any new chapters before September 18, 2015 - it's a horribly long wait, I know. If I can get the next chapter done before then, I will post it, of course, but I can't promise.  
One more thing: a friend of mine read the story and pointed out some typos and formatting errors which will have been fixed by that date._

 _Until then, stay safe, and may the force be with you!_


	6. Droid Surgery

**Chapter 6: Droid Surgery**

The separatist fleet began firing everything they had. From the ordinary laser cannon shots to proton torpedoes, a huge number of missiles came flying towards the _Enterprise_. As the first rounds hit them, the ship shook violently and everybody on the bridge had to hold on to their seats and consoles, or they would have been thrown across the entire room.

"Mr. Worf, report!" Picard shouted over the noise.

"Shields down to 68 percent, Sir! Minor damage to the outer hull in the forward sections of decks six through eleven, 8 injured. Emergency response teams are on their way."

"Prepare photo torpedoes, full spread. Fire!"

A few seconds later, the front screen showed a batch of orange shining balls – torpedoes – flying towards the separatist fleet. After only a few hits, the enemy ships literally flew apart. Rex and Cody both stared at the scenery in awe. The only ship they knew capable of doing such damage in such a short time was the _Malevolence_ with its ion cannon that would disable the power grids of ships, turning them into defenseless targets. But this was different. The _Enterprise_ 's phasers and photon torpedoes were weapons that none of the ships in their galaxy were made to withstand, neither by shields nor by structural integrity. They hoped that none of the separatist ships had been able to, by whichever means, send any information about this galaxy, its ships and their weapons back to Count Dooku or General Grievous.

"Mr. Data, scan for survivors," Picard ordered the man with the strangely white skin at the front left of the bridge.

"Scanners show roughly 500 artificial life forms that appear to still be operational, Sir."

Picard's mood brightened visibly. He tapped the starfleet badge on his chest and began to speak: "Picard to transporter room three, lock onto one of the artificial life forms in the debris field that are still intact. Beam it straight to one of the holding cells, and be sure to disable it." The starfleet badge appeared to be some type of comlink the crew members of the _Enterprise_ used to communicate.

The response from the transporter room came a second later: "Sir, I have locked onto one of the artificial life forms, but the computer can't find a way to disable it."

"Please stand by for a minute, chief," Picard said, ending the connection before turning his look towards Rex and Cody.

"Sir, if you are intending to get information from it, it won't talk to you," Cody stated.

"It probably won't," Picard agreed, "but shouldn't it be possible to extract data directly from their storage?"

"That might indeed be possible," Data interposed, "but we would still lack the information necessary to decode and possibly decrypt the information from the storage. Trying to read the data without this information might render the result useless. Building an algorithm to decode the information-"

"Data!" Picard interrupted, "Is it possible?"

"Yes, Sir, although without taking a closer look at the data I cannot give an exact prediction of our chance of success."

"I want you and Mr. La Forge to try and reconstruct the data from one of these artificial life forms, now. Captain Rex, Commander Cody, I assume you know about these artificial life forms… What did you call them, droids?"

"Yes, droids," Cody replied to the last part of the question first. They weren't exactly experts on extracting information from droids' brains, but they had done it once. "And, uh, yes, I'd say we know a little about them."

"Good. The two of you will assist Commander Data and Commander La Forge in engineering."

"Yes, sir. If you would follow me, please?" Data led the way.

Under Rex and Cody's instruction, the transporter room was able to locate the main ship's tactical droid and beam it aboard in a disabled state. The trio headed to engineering.

"I am curious. What exactly did you do to get here?" Data asked while walking.

"Wish we knew," Rex answered. "We wanted to escape a _situation_ we encountered on our way back from a mission. I programmed the main drive, it got hit a split-second before we engaged… And now we're here."

"Intriguing. Please, tell me how your drive usually works," Data continued to ask.

"With all due respect, we are commanding officers, not engineers. I think you would learn more about it by looking at it than we could ever tell you," Cody avoided the question. Technical details weren't exactly their field of expertise.

They reached main engineering before Data could ask any further questions.

"Data! Captain Rex, Commander Cody, welcome to engineering," they were greeted by an enthusiastic chief engineer. "I see you brought our information supplier," he continued, taking a first look at the tactical droid Data had just placed on a nearby table. "The captain wants us to get as much information out of him as we can. Let's get started."

La Forge turned towards Rex and Cody. "First of all, we will have to find a port of some kind in order to access the storage unit. If you could help us with that?"

"Sure. Open up the primary access hatch right here…."

* * *

Three hours and roughly 134 technical details later, they had extracted all the information they needed from the droid's storage unit. The fleet, which it had commanded on its own, had only minimal crew and orders to explore this new galaxy and collect information to help Count Dooku decide whether or not the new galaxy should be conquered.

They returned to the bridge to make their report to Captain Picard.

* * *

 _AN: I'm back. Took a little longer than I would have liked, but I finally made it. School is sort of spreading into my entire afternoon and weekends, which sort of doesn't help me write more.  
Sorry :( ._

 _PS: This chapter was actually finished last week already (on Sept. 21 or Sept. 22, 2015). I sometimes am so oblivious that I forget to actually post when I'm done, lol._


	7. Meeting

**Chapter 7:** **Meeting**

After informing Captain Picard of what they had found, the four of them – La Forge, Rex, Cody, and Data – were called to the conference room. As they arrived, the _Enterprise_ 's entire senior staff was already assembled. They found their seats and the meeting begun.

"As you probably all know, we were attacked by a fleet from our…," he paused, taking a moment to find a word to best describe Rex and Cody's status, "visitors' galaxy. Although we were able to ward off this attack, I hope you all realize what this actually _means_. The federation has been invaded by a fleet from a faraway galaxy," he continued. "We have been able to salvage one of the artificial life form that were aboard one of the ships. Mr. La Forge and Mr. Data have been working with our two guests to retrieve information from it. Mr. La Forge, if you would inform us, please."

"Of course," La Forge took over. "From its storage unit we were able to determine that the fleet was sent to collect information about our galaxy, so that the head of their military could decide whether we are worth conquering," he concluded.

"Have you had time to look into the drive of the shuttle that brought Rex and Cody here yet?" Picard asked the chief engineer.

"No, Sir, I was just getting ready to when we were attacked."

"Alright. Make it a top priority, I want to know how anybody can travel such distances," Picard ordered.

"Yes, Sir," La Forge acknowledged. "Do you think they came here the same way as you did?" he asked, turning towards Rex and Cody.

"They hit our drive before we engaged and their sensors have probably picked up exactly what happened. So, yes, probably they did," Cody responded.

Picard nodded. "As I said, top priority, Mr. La Forge. Even more so now."

The chief engineer nodded.

"Good. Ask Rex and Cody for assistance if necessary. The three of you are dismissed."

They left the room as ordered.

* * *

 _AN: This is a "mini-chapter" that I decided to separate from the following chapter. You will see why once I finish said next chapter.  
_ _And yes, I know, it has been an awfully long time_ again _, but as I mentioned before, school, and now also a student exchange, which (although very interesting) left me with nearly no spare time in the past weeks. I hope I will be able to post more often in the future, although I can't promise._


	8. Discussions

Chapter 8: Discussions

 _AN: The first two parts of this chapter are_ _not_ _written from the usual "Rex and Cody 3rd person" point of view._

"Counselor," Picard asked, "have they been telling the truth?"

"Right now, they were. Whenever I was near them, there were no signs of aversion to us. When we were attacked, they were genuinely concerned for our safety," Troi responded. "But there is something that concerns me, Captain. It's difficult for me to read them. All the basic emotions are there, but they lack the level of detail I can usually see in people," she added in a slightly concerned voice.

"We should consider the possibility that although they look just like us, their brains might be working a bit differently. They are from another galaxy, after all," Crusher interjected.

"Very well," Picard agreed, "Doctor Crusher, please do a routine medical examination on both of them. Give us as much data as you can get from the standard-level scans."  
"Captain, the standard-level scans might not be able to explain the phenomenon-" she began, but Picard cut her off: "I am aware of that, thank you. The point is that they shouldn't feel like specimen. Are there any other ways that might be less… obvious?" he asked.

"I could probably conduct further analysis on a blood sample," she proposed.

"Make it so. Tell them to come in as soon as Mr. La Forge dismisses them," Picard ordered.

"I will," Crusher acknowledged.

"Good. As soon as we have information from their shuttle and the medical examination, I will advise Starfleet Command of the situation. If anybody would like to say something, now would be the time," Picard stated.

"Sir, I propose to restrict their access to engineering and the bridge," Worf said.

Picard took a moment to consider the idea. "Very well, Mr. Worf, post security guards at all entrances to main engineering and all turbo lift doors on the bridge. They aren't to enter ether section unless authorized to by one of the senior staff," he agreed.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

 _A few hours later, after the examination of the republic shuttle's main drive had been completed. Rex and Cody have gone to sickbay as ordered. Together with Data, who joined them in engineering later, La Forge discusses their insight about the drive with Captain Picard in his ready room._

"It is unlike anything I've ever seen," La Forge said. "We haven't exactly figured out how it works yet, but it can surely reach speeds way past maximum warp."

"We do know by which principle it works. Using their drive, a ship can take a shortcut through another dimension. It works in a similar fashion as the Borg's transwarp conduits, with the difference that they don't need to set up any conduits first," Data continued.

"Yes, I vaguely remember this being theorized. Go on, please."

"Here's the good news: We managed to figure out what broke when the drive was hit, and we reconstructed what happened inside the drive when it formed the wormhole," La Forge said with a hint of pride in his voice. "But," he continued, "in order to send them home, we still have to find a way to control where the wormhole will form."

"How long will it take you?" Picard asked.

"Difficult to say… Three days, maybe less."

"Take your time. I don't want them to end up somewhere at the edge of the universe," Picard said.

"Of course, Captain. We will complete our task very conscientiously," Data assured.

"Great! Now, I'm certainly tired, and I'm guessing that you are too. I want you to get back to this problem as soon as you had some sleep," Picard ordered.

"Yes, Captain," La Forge acknowledged.

* * *

 _Meanwhile in sickbay…_

"Is this really necessary?" Rex moaned as they approached sickbay. When the automatic door slid open, he fell silent in surprise as he found no bacta tanks or medi-droids anywhere.

"Doctor Crusher, they're here!" a nurse called across the room. "She'll see you in a minute," she added, turning towards Rex and Cody. "If you would please take a seat over here," she said, pointing them to one of the biobeds.

Half a minute or so later, Doctor Crusher left her office, a tricorder in hand, making her way over to them.

"Hello," she greeted. "I take it that you have been informed that I would like to conduct a routine medical examination on you?"

"Yes, Doctor."

"Good. I further assume that you are alright with this procedure? It won't take long."

Not used to being asked before examined by anyone, the two clones looked at each other briefly before nodding in agreement.

"Great," she said before opening the tricorder and taking a little handheld device out of its top, which appeared to be a separate sort of scanner.

"Well, except that you are tired, you both appear to be in very good physical condition, as far as I can tell," she concluded after scanning them for a few moments. "Now, just one more thing before we're done, I need to take blood samples from both of you, to make sure you didn't contract any illnesses the tricorder can't detect," she explained, reaching for the necessary devices. She hesitated. "Um… May I?" she asked, gesturing towards Rex' neck seal a little sheepishly.

"Sure, sorry." He moved it aside helpfully.

"Now, this may sting a little," the doctor warned, placing the device on his neck and pressing the button.

Shortly thereafter, she had done the same with Cody. "That's it, thank you. It will take several hours for the blood analysis to complete, but as there are no symptoms indicating that we will find something, I see no reason to keep you here any further. But as I said before, I do suggest you get some sleep," she said, dismissing them. And although Rex really didn't like taking advices from medics, or doctors, in this case (which usually were even worse), going to sleep sounded really good right now.

* * *

 _AN: Well, here comes the 8th chapter (which has been a rather long one for the first time in ages, I know). And (minor spoiler alert) looking at my notes, it's just four more chapters to go before we rech the end of this adventure. Please review and tell me what you think so far, it would be very much appreciated._


	9. Starfleet Command

**Chapter 9: Starfleet Command**

 _AN: This chapter is_ ** _not_** _written from the usual "Rex and Cody 3rd person" point of view._

"Come," Picard's voice came through the door his ready room before it opened and Doctor Crusher stepped in. She had just finished analyzing Rex' and Cody's blood samples. It was 12pm and way past the end of her shift, and she was fairly tired. The door slid shut behind her.

"Captain, I have finished the analysis of their blood samples, including a full analysis of their DNA," she began.

"Great. What did you find?"

"Well, their DNA appears to be normal at first glance, but a closer look, together with a computer comparison, reveals that their genomes are… well, just a little _too_ perfect," she continued.

"What do you mean, 'just a little too perfect'?" Picard asked.

"Judging from their DNA, they probably have enhanced physical and mental abilities, which might also explain why Deanna can't read their emotions the way she usually can. But they seem to be at no risk for hereditary diseases. In short, it seems as if they have been genetically modified."

"Thank you very much, Doctor. Dismissed." Picard didn't tell the doctor what he had learned about Rex and Cody when they came together on their first evening aboard the _Enterprise_ as he felt that the had conveyed a lot of private information that they wouldn't want broadly shared, but he had gotten all the information he needed.

* * *

After Doctor Crusher had left his ready room, Picard turned toward a rather unpleasant task - contacting Starfleet Command. As much as he would have liked to avoid contacting Admirals, which tended to have lengthy conversations with no apparent outcome, as much did he know that a matter like this simply _required_ them to be informed. He had already postponed it when Rex and Cody had first come aboard, as well as when the Separatists initially attacked - he wanted to be able to present them as much information as possible.

He pressed a button on his terminal before he spoke: "Open direct secure channel to Starfleet Command, Admiral Nechayev." He sighed. He really hated this part.

"Captain Picard," the admiral said from the computer screen. "What earns me this unexpected pleasure?"

"Admiral," he said, putting up his best smile. "I have to inform you about a series of events that have recently taken place aboard the _Enterprise_ that I think require your attention."

"Which would be?" she asked coldly, although a little surprised. The captain had barely ever deemed it necessary to inform Starfleet Command about anything, so this had to be fairly important.

"A few days ago, a wormhole suddenly opened and from it emerged a ship…"

"You mean to say, people from a faraway galaxy are now freely roaming your ship, and you somehow got involved in their conflicts?" the admiral asked once Picard had finished. "If this is some sort of bad joke, you better drop it now."

"I'm afraid it's no joke. I will send you all the information we have gathered."

"What do you intend on doing with them?" she asked.

"As of now, I see no reason not to let them go. We will help them with their damaged shuttle and send them back to their own galaxy as soon as possible."

After a longer pause, she finally responded: "Well, I don't see really see a reason to keep them either, but this is a matter that cannot and will not remain secret for long. I doubt that the Federation Council will share this opinion…" - she paused again - "Captain, you have seventy-two hours to get them back home before I will inform the Council of this matter. If they're not gone by then, I fear they will have a lot of difficulties."

Picard took a moment to think about what she just said before answering: "I agree, Admiral."

The admiral showed a hint of a smile. "Seventy-two hours, Picard. Nechayev out." The transmission ended.

 _That didn't go too bad_ , Picard thought to himself before tapping his comm badge. "Picard to La Forge."

The engineer took longer than usual to respond. "La Forge here."

"Sorry if I woke you up, Commander," Picard said, "but I have talked to Starfleet Command, we have seventy-two hours to get Rex and Cody back to their Galaxy. You and Mr. Data need to get to work immediately, you are both excused from all other duties."

"Yes, Captain… I'll just take a quick shower and then I'll get right to it."

"Very good. And take Rex and Cody with you, I'm sure they can help."  
"I was about to ask, Sir. As I said, I'll just take a quick shower, and then I'll get right to it."

"Make it so. Picard out."


	10. Fixing the Drive

**Chapter 10: Fixing the Drive**

Rex awoke to to the sound of the doorbell. Compared to how long they had been awake for, this hadn't been a lot of sleep, but they were used to that. Much to his discontent, Cody hadn't awoken yet.

The doorbell rang again. With Cody finally beginning to wake up, Rex got out of bed and went for the door. They hadn't bothered undressing last night. Well, all the better.

"Yes?" he asked, poking his head out of the door, not aware of the possibility to open the door with the word _come_.

"Hello." It was La Forge, the engineer they had worked with yesterday. "Sorry to wake you up, but the Captain says we need to get you out of here within the next… 71 hours and 30 minutes. We need to go over to the main shuttle bay and get back to work on your shuttle's main drive."

"Um… Sure. Just a minute," Rex answered, retreating back into the room. "Cody, Commander La Forge is here. He says we need to get back to work on our hyperspace drive and leave within the next 71 hours or so."

"Let's get to it, then," Cody said, jumping up from the bed and stuffing his data pad onto his belt.

Seconds later, they had left their room, La Forge leading the way to the main shuttle bay where they had landed their shuttle the day before.

# # #

Data was already waiting for them when they arrived. "Good morning! Or should I rather say 'good afternoon'! Have you slept well?"

"Er… Yes, how about you?" Rex replied, slightly taken aback by the question. Even between clones it was highly unusual for commanding officers to ask such questions, but they were both beginning to notice that manners were more than just a little different here.

"Me? I am an android, I require no sleep, but thank you for asking," he replied politely.

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, what is an android?" Cody asked. He had long noticed something _strange_ about Data, and this might just be the answer.

"I am an artificial life form, designed to look and act like a human," he replied without a hint of emotion. Cody did not dare to ask any further. He had already gotten more information than he had hoped for, and their instructors had always told them not to ask too many questions, so he settled for a somewhat awkward "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he simply replied.

La Forge had already gotten to work on the shuttle's hyperspace drive. "Data, hand me the phase inverter, please." A second later, the tool was in his hand, and he was back inside the maintenance flap.

Rex and Cody watched in awe as La Forge and Data, man and machine, continued to work together with amazing efficiency reminiscent of a clone unit.

Not until now did they realize that they _missed_ their comrades. They had been on solo missions before, they had even been captured and held hostage on remote outer rim planets, but they had always been within reach of their legions. This was different. There was not much they could do about their situation. They had to fully trust the crew of the _Enterprise_ and their promise to bring them back home safely.

# # #

Hours later, after they had successfully determined the drive components that would need to be controlled in order to influence the wormhole exits, and after La Forge and Data had some complex calculations and simulations set up that would run overnight, they proceeded to determining where those exits would need to _be_.

La Forge, attempting to set up computer link, climbed out of the cockpit, somewhat unsatisfied. "I'm sorry," he said, "but I can't read any of this."

Rex frowned slightly. "But it is the same language…"

"All I see is a bunch of symbols," La Forge said with an apologetic look.

"You mean Aurebesh?" Cody asked helpfully. "It consists of twenty-six primary characters-"

"Wait a minute, you said twenty-six primary characters?" La Forge wanted to reassure himself.

"Yes, twenty-six primary characters," Cody confirmed.

"Data!" he said excitedly. "They might mean the same as our twenty-six letters!"

"That might be possible. Let me take a look," Data agreed, climbing into the cockpit himself. "This symbol appears very often," he began to analyze the writing after La Forge had followed him into the cockpit. He pointed to an _esk_ symbol on the console in front of him. "It might represent the letter E, which relatively is the most common in the English language."

"I have succeeded at mapping these characters to the ones present in our alphabet," Data informed a few seconds later. "This screen displays current power levels, hull integrity and sensor data."

Although La Forge had known Data for a few years now, his friend never ceased to amaze him. He flipped open his tricorder and assisted him in setting up the computer link.

"The link has been established successfully. We should now be able to access the maps from our computer," Data reported before they both left the cockpit again.

They all walked to one of the shuttle bay's numerous access terminals, where Data opened the star map from the Republic shuttle and had the computer match them with their own maps.

"We are currently here," Data said, pointing to a flashing dot on the map labeled _NCC-1701-D_. He then zoomed out the map. A circle appeared around one of the galaxies that were further away. "I assume this is where you want to go."

"Zoom in, please," Rex requested. After Data had tapped a few buttons on the keypad, the highlighted galaxy was enlarged until it filled the entire screen. Rex nodded. "Yes. Right here," he said, tapping Coruscant's position on the map. Another dot appeared, this one labeled _Destination_.

"Thank you. I will program the computer for a set of more sophisticated simulations so that we can determine the exact parameters necessary to modify your drive," Data said.

"How long do you think they will take, Data?" La Forge asked.

"We should get the results in approximately 13 hours, 38 minutes and 19 seconds."

"Very well. I suggest you sleep some more, we'll meet you back here tomorrow at… 0630 hours," La Forge half asked, half ordered them.

"Yes, Sir."  
"Very well. Will you find your way back to your quarters?"  
"Sure."  
"Alright. See you tomorrow," La Forge dismissed them. "Goodbye," Data added before they were through the door.

# # #

"Rex, was it really necessary to tell them the _exact_ location of Coruscant?" Cody asked in his no-nonsense commander's voice.

"Calm down, Cody, it's not a secret! Also, I'd rather have that than having them get us to the outer rim, perhaps right next to some sep fleet we don't even know is there!" Rex responded in the same voice.

Cody sighed. "You have a point," he reluctantly admitted. "Come on, let's get something and sleep some more."

Even though they did not want to admit it, they were both strangely tired. During battles, they were used to being up for more than 30 hours straight, but this was different. All this taking was so _exhausting_. Neither of them understood how the Jedi could survive the hours of talking in the council meetings.

# # #

"Geordi," Data began, "I have noticed Commander Cody behaving somewhat strangely when I told him that I was an android. What do you think might be the cause?"

"Data… Remember that 'tactical droid' we took apart after fighting their ships?"

"Of course. I do not usually forget things."

"Sure. The point is, from what we know, they have probably been fighting these artificial life forms for a long time. They're probably not used to cooperating with them," La Forge explained.

"But if they are concluding a general dislike towards artificial life forms from the behavior of just some of them, wouldn't that be considered racist?" Data wondered.

"Technically yes, Data, but it's not always that easy to suddenly drop an aversion towards something. Let me give you an example: If the Romulans were to suddenly join the federation, how long would it take for the crew to accept romulan officers aboard the _Enterprise_? I'd say it would take at least a month," La Forge went on.

"I have noticed that it often takes humans time to adjust to such fundamental changes if they happen suddenly…" Data agreed. "Thank you for clarifying this."

"No problem, Data," La Forge said with a smile.

# # #

The next day at exactly 6.30am, they met again in the main shuttle bay to fine-tune the engine so that it would take them straight home to Coruscant.

"Good morning!" greeted La Forge, who had arrived a few minutes before them. "Ready to finish this up?"

"Sure. Let's go!"

"Great! Data?"

"The simulations were a success. The computer has determined the exact parameters necessary to take you to the location you indicated to us," Data explained. "We will have to set the plasma inducer to 6.2574, take exactly 2.8759 microns off the-"

"Data!" La Forge interrupted him. "Let's go through this one thing after the other. We'll begin with the plasma inducer."

"Sure."

La Forge crouched before the still opened access hatch, making adjustments that surely were not standards compliant. Rey and Cody continued to watch as Data joined him, probably taking 'exactly 6.2574 microns off the' something. They both really hated that they could not actively help - after all, it was _their_ shuttle's drive that set off this entire ordeal. But all they really did was standing around, attempting to answer occasional questions from the two engineers which they could or could not help them with.

# # #

"That was it," Data announced after he and La Forge had been working on the drive for many hours. "Thank you for your help."

"No, thank _you_ , sir. I'm sorry that we couldn't help more," Cody contradicted him.

"From what my studies of human behavior have shown me, it usually is the gesture of even just attempting to help that counts. Therefore, 'thank you' is the appropriate response," Data explained.

"No, seriously, I don't think we could have done this without you," La Forge added. "Let me tell you, you have a great understanding of that engine considering you are not engineers - by our standards, at least."

"Hey Cody," Rex said with a smirk, "let's get something to eat!"

"Sure… Thanks again, commanders."

* * *

 _Author's note: I wish you all a happy new year (I guess it's too late to wish a merry christmas)! Also sorry for the long wait, I took some time off from writing during the holidays. To make up for the wait, I made this chapter particularly long. :)_

 _I hope to see you next chapter! May the Force be with you all!_


	11. Leaving for Coruscant

**Chapter 11: Leaving for Coruscant**

The next day at 0800 hours, Rex and Cody entered the main shuttle bay to depart as they had been ordered. They found the _Enterprise_ 's entire senior staff assembled.

Picard stepped forward, smiling. "Quite an eventful week, wasn't it?"

"Well, we've had eventful weeks before, but none of them was quite like this."

"I believe it was a very interesting week for all of us, and that we all learned a lot. And although I have to admit that the explorer in me is somewhat sorry to just let you go like that, I believe that you should return to where you… belong. Some in Starfleet Command do not share that opinion, but let that be my worry. I assure you that while I am in Command of the _Enterprise_ , you will always be welcome aboard," Picard continued.

Cody cracked a smile. "Thank you, sir."

Data stepped forward next. "During my studies of human behavior, I have noticed the custom of giving a farewell present that is common in some cultures. Please consider this my farewell present," he said, handing each of the two a small box containing a storage chip. "They contain a map of our galaxy, in a format that your computers can understand.

Rex and Cody were both quite flabbergasted, neither of them had ever really received presents before. But they had a bad feeling that their generals would want the maps once they arrived.

"Er… Um…" Rex was out of words, which rarely ever happened. "Thank you very much."

"Yes… Thank you," Cody added.

"You are welcome," Data replied, stepping back again.

"Hey, um, it's been nice working with you," La Forge said, shaking their hands. "I hope we'll meet again."

Picard nodded, shaking their hands himself. "Goodbye. And may your travels always be safe."

Rex and Cody exchanged looks. "Goodbye. We'll be happy to return if we get a chance."

They put on their helmets before walking to the shuttle. The door slid open for them, and they entered.

"Open the door," Picard ordered the officer at the console. Alarms sounded and the force field activated as the massive gate of the main shuttle bay slid open. The shuttle's engines roared as it took off, making its way toward the force field. Once it was through, the landing gear retracted and the wings moved into the triangular cruising position. The _Enterprise_ 's crew watched as the shuttle moved out of sight, making final preparations for its journey home.

# # #

"Wow… I guess we'll have a hard time explaining all this," Rex said.

"You think?"

"Well, all this happened because we were hit in the right spot."

"True. But if they had hit us somewhere else, they might have blown up the shuttle altogether."

"Let's not worry about that before we actually get there. This entire thing still might just blow up."

"Uhh, let's not hope so, old friend. We're reaching the designated launch coordinates."

"Alright. I'm taking the drive on line… Looks good so far. What do you have?"

"Nothing unusual. Are you ready?"

"Ready as ever."

"Then let's do this. Initiate hyperspace jump sequence."

"Jump sequence initiated… Hyperspace jump will occur in three… two… one…"

There was a bright flash of light as another wormhole appeared in front of them.

"There it is. Take us in," Cody ordered.

Rex piloted the shuttle into the wormhole.


	12. Report to the Council

The trip through the wormhole went smoothly. To their surprise, they did arrive at their desired location, just minutes from Coruscant. As they continued their approach the communications system came online.

"Shuttle Varrac, this is Coruscant ground control. Please identify yourself."

"This is Commander Cody aboard the shuttle Varrac. Requesting permission to land."

"Cody!" whoever was on the other end of the line exclaimed happily. "We had almost given up hope on you. Give me a minute, there's someone who's longing to talk to you."

"Cody. Nice to hear from you," Obi-Wan Kenobi said in his usual calm voice. "Please tell me, where have you been, and how did you manage to appear here so suddenly? And is Captain Rex with you?"

"Yes, I am, General," Rex replied happily.

"Oh, I'm sure Anakin and Ahsoka will be most delighted to hear that. Anyway, welcome back, you two, you have landing permission on platform G-8376. I'll be there."

"Thank you, sir. We're preparing to land."

# # #

"Welcome back, Cody. Captain Rex." Obi-Wan shook their hands in greeting.

"Thank you, General. It's good to be back," Cody replied.

"The council is eager to hear your story and has summoned a special meeting. Please follow me, we shouldn't let them wait," Obi-Wan said, leading them towards the nearby Jedi Temple.

Minutes later, they stepped through the doors of the council chamber. Obi-Wan took his regular seat while Rex and Cody removed their helmets and stood in the middle of the room like guests usually did.

"Quite a story to tell you have, hm?" Yoda greeted them.

"Yes… General."

"Tell us, tell us! Start at the very beginning, you should."

"We were just returning from our mission when we ran into a separatist patrol…"

# # #

"… and we returned just minutes from Coruscant," the two clones wrapped up their story.

"So that separatist fleet disappeared for a reason. I'm just not sure whether I like that reason," Obi-Wan concluded.

"I sure don't. It is very disturbing that the separatists know of a civilization with such power, and even worse, how to get there," Mace Windou added.

"Hm, yes, great disturbances in the Force, I feel; from far away, they come," Yoda said.

"I'm feeling it, too," Mace Windou confirmed.

"Difficult times before us we have, much more difficult than now. For your report, thank you we do, Captain, Commander. Now please, leave us alone, hm?"

"Sure. Goodbye, Generals." The two clones left the room.

The masters returned to their conversation. "Do you think we should attempt to contact them as well?" Abi-Wan wondered. "With such powerful allies on our side, we should have no issues defeating Dooku."

"No," Yoda said firmly, "Their wish to remain neutral, they clearly stated. Respect it, we must."

"I know, Master Yoda. But they took out an entire _fleet_. I'm aware that the separatists shot first, but to Dooku, it must seem like they had chosen sides already," Obi-Wan added.

"Hm… Not wrong, you are, Obi-Wan. Closely monitor Dooku's every move we must; and contact them we will, when necessary it appears. For now, close this meeting we should, until more information we have," Yoda concluded.

With this, the Jedi masters rose from their seats and shuffled out of the council chamber.

 _The end._

(\' '/)

 _I am aware that this probably was not the action-loaded showdown ending you were expecting. I know I sometimes let you down with short chapters and long waits. I'm sorry. They say that for your first work as an author, the most important thing of all is that you finish it, which I am very proud to have finally achieved. I know that my style of writing was not exceptional (it wasn't even very consistent), and to most people the plot must have been boring with a rather disappointing ending. I noticed that you can really see the development of my stress level over time, lol. Nope, school didn't do my writing any good :D_

 _Anyways, thanks a lot for reading - stay safe and may the Force be with you on all your journeys! I'm also announcing (if you can call it that) that there is a high probability that I will make a sequel to this. I just don't yet know when I will do that or how it will develop. The only thing I can say is that it definitely will_ not _happen until October (in fact, I myself would be surprised if it still happened in 2016). So be sure to check back in a year or so, or simply follow me as an author to see what I come up with next :)_

 _Thanks again for reading - ArdiMaster out._


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